The news: The European Commission (EC) opened a probe into Google over concerns that it’s unfairly demoting some news media and publishers in search results, marking rising tensions between the company and the media industry.

The inquiry focuses on Google’s site reputation abuse policy—which was introduced in 2024—and whether it penalizes websites that include content from commercial partners.

• Regulators argue that this setup affects a “common and legitimate way” for news publishers to monetize their content and may violate the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
• Google maintains that the policy is necessary to stop third-party content from ranking higher in search results than it deserves.

Zooming out: Google Search saw 14.5% YoY growth in Q3 revenues. In 2024, the company tested a feature to exclude news from search results and reported in March 2025 that the importance of news content to its EU business was negligible—usage dipped just 0.8% and ad revenues stayed flat.

With that lack of financial dependence on publishers, Google may feel less pressure to preserve those relationships.

What’s new now: The EC isn’t reacting to a potential threat—it’s responding to real-world fallout from the policy’s first year and a half. The investigation could push Google to adjust or reverse parts of the policy, creating uncertainty for brands and publishers.

• For example, the site abuse policy caused traffic to product-review sites like CNN Underscored to drop 25% YoY in January, per The Wall Street Journal.
• It has also led to the shutdown of some product-review sites, including the Associated Press’ AP Buyline.

What marketers should do: Instead of abandoning publisher partnerships while the EC investigates the policy, brands should treat the relationships as part of a broader content strategy where Google is less dependent on news and more strict about third-party content.

• Audit third-party content placements to ensure they meet technical requirements and won’t be flagged as low value.
• Put FAQs and product specs into assets to support SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies.
• Monitor signs of demotion, such as sudden drops in click-through rates, to identify when partner content might be triggering site reputation abuse filters.

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